Estimates of illegal wood imports by consumer and processing countries have been made based on an analysis of all wood product imports, including pulp and paper. The analysis uses estimates of illegally sourced timber content in individual wood flows, with variations across product groups and destination countries reflecting the effects of efforts made by certain importers to clean up supply chains and reflecting the different types of wood source used in different products. In addition to direct flows from affected producer countries, estimates have also been produced of illegal wood in flows from key third-party processing countries such as China, based on an analysis of these countries’ imports, their domestic production, and how the proportion of these has changed over time.

The figures adopted are based on the best available evidence; but, given the challenges of quantifying levels of illegal logging and the limited information available for some countries, they should not be regarded as definitive. Rather, they indicate the likely levels of illegality and, perhaps more important, how they may have changed over time.

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Estimates of illegal imports by consumer and processing countries have been made based on an analysis of all wood-based product imports, including pulp and paper. The analysis uses estimates of illegal timber content in individual product flows, with variations between product groups and destination countries to reflect the different sources of timber used in different products and variations in the extent of legality verification or certification between supply changes. In addition to direct flows from producer countries, estimates have also been produced of illegal wood in flows from third-party processing countries such as China, based on an analysis of these countries’ imports and their domestic production and consumption.

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Estimated imports of illegally sourced wood products by the five focus consumer countries combined peaked in 2004 at 23 million cubic metres of roundwood equivalent volume per year, having stayed steady at around 20 million cubic metres per year during the earlier part of the decade. Since 2004 imports have fallen steadily back, with particularly large falls in 2007 and 2008. Imports in 2008 were the lowest yet in the decade.
This broad pattern stemmed mostly from changes in the estimated imports by the US and Japan, which are by far the largest consumers among the five countries examined.

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Estimates of illegal wood product consumption per capita in consumer countries provide a means to compare demand for such products in different countries. Some countries are conduits for imports destined for other countries, however, and in this case per capita consumption will not give an accurate reflection of domestic demand.

Source: Chatham House for import-source estimates of illegal imports; population data from the World Bank.
Note: The Netherlands is a major conduit for imports ultimately destined for other European countries (about a third of wood imports are re-exported, compared with 7 per cent in the UK), so real per capita consumption figures for the country can be expected to be considerably lower than shown here.

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Trade data discrepancies can provide an indication of the level of illegal trade in timber. Analysis of this data has been used to examine the impact of an export ban on sawn timber in Indonesia in 2004.

Source: Country trade data. Based on discrepancies between reported exports of sawn timber by Indonesia (where exports of almost all forms are banned) and reported imports of sawn timber from Indonesia by consuming countries.

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Estimates of illegal wood imports by consumer and processing countries have been made based on an analysis of all wood product imports, including pulp and paper. The analysis uses estimates of illegally sourced timber content in individual wood flows, with variations across product groups and destination countries to reflect the effects of efforts made by certain importers to clean up supply chains and reflecting the different types of wood source used in different products. In addition to direct flows from affected producer countries, estimates have also been produced of illegal wood in flows from key third-party processing countries such as China, based on an analysis of these countries’ imports, their domestic production, and how the proportion of these has changed over time.

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Estimated illegally-sourced wood imports (per capita and as a proportion of all wood imports) in consumer and processing countries, 2008

To assess the problem of illegal timber imports in the consumer and processing countries, the proportion of wood product imports estimated to be illegal and the per capita consumption of such products is compared.

Note: 2008 chosen as reference year because newer data are not yet available for the original seven countries.

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Estimated volume and value of imports of wood-based products at high risk of illegality by supplying country or region into the UK

Estimates of illegal wood imports by consumer and processing countries have been made based on an analysis of all wood product imports, including pulp and paper. The analysis uses estimates of illegally sourced timber content in individual wood flows, with variations across product groups and destination countries reflecting the effects of efforts made by certain importers to clean up supply chains and reflecting the different types of wood source used in different products. In addition to direct flows from affected producer countries, estimates have also been produced of illegal wood in flows from key third-party processing countries such as China, based on an analysis of these countries’ imports, their domestic production, and how the proportion of these has changed over time.

The figures adopted are based on the best available evidence; but, given the challenges of quantifying levels of illegal logging and the limited information available for some countries, they should not be regarded as definitive. Rather, they indicate the likely levels of illegality and, perhaps more important, how they may have changed over time.

Source: Eurostat data analysed by Chatham House.

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Estimated percentage of imports of timber- and paper-sector products at high risk of illegality into the UK

Estimates of illegal wood imports by consumer and processing countries have been made based on an analysis of all wood product imports, including pulp and paper. The analysis uses estimates of illegally sourced timber content in individual wood flows, with variations across product groups and destination countries reflecting the effects of efforts made by certain importers to clean up supply chains and reflecting the different types of wood source used in different products. In addition to direct flows from affected producer countries, estimates have also been produced of illegal wood in flows from key third-party processing countries such as China, based on an analysis of these countries’ imports, their domestic production, and how the proportion of these has changed over time.

The figures adopted are based on the best available evidence; but, given the challenges of quantifying levels of illegal logging and the limited information available for some countries, they should not be regarded as definitive. Rather, they indicate the likely levels of illegality and, perhaps more important, how they may have changed over time.

Source: Based on illegality estimates by Chatham House; and Eurostat data.

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Estimated RWE volume of imports of wood-based products at high risk of illegality into the UK, 2000–13

Estimates of illegal wood imports by consumer and processing countries have been made based on an analysis of all wood product imports, including pulp and paper. The analysis uses estimates of illegally sourced timber content in individual wood flows, with variations across product groups and destination countries reflecting the effects of efforts made by certain importers to clean up supply chains and reflecting the different types of wood source used in different products. In addition to direct flows from affected producer countries, estimates have also been produced of illegal wood in flows from key third-party processing countries such as China, based on an analysis of these countries’ imports, their domestic production, and how the proportion of these has changed over time.

The figures adopted are based on the best available evidence; but, given the challenges of quantifying levels of illegal logging and the limited information available for some countries, they should not be regarded as definitive. Rather, they indicate the likely levels of illegality and, perhaps more important, how they may have changed over time.

Sources: Based on illegality estimates by Chatham House; and official national trade statistics for the UK, France, Netherlands (Eurostat), Trade Statistics of Japan, US (USITC Trade DataWeb), General Administration of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China, The Customs Service of the Kingdom of Thailand, South Korea (Korea Customs Service), India (UN Comtrade) and official statistics for the imports of Vietnam’s partner countries. Data for all countries also draw on UN Comtrade and on analysis by Chatham House.

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Estimated percentage of imports of wood-based products at high risk of illegality into the UK (by RWE volume), 2000-13

Estimates of illegal wood imports by consumer and processing countries have been made based on an analysis of all wood product imports, including pulp and paper. The analysis uses estimates of illegally sourced timber content in individual wood flows, with variations across product groups and destination countries reflecting the effects of efforts made by certain importers to clean up supply chains and reflecting the different types of wood source used in different products. In addition to direct flows from affected producer countries, estimates have also been produced of illegal wood in flows from key third-party processing countries such as China, based on an analysis of these countries’ imports, their domestic production, and how the proportion of these has changed over time.

The figures adopted are based on the best available evidence; but, given the challenges of quantifying levels of illegal logging and the limited information available for some countries, they should not be regarded as definitive. Rather, they indicate the likely levels of illegality and, perhaps more important, how they may have changed over time.

Sources: Based on illegality estimates by Chatham House; and official national trade statistics for the UK, France, Netherlands (Eurostat), Trade Statistics of Japan, US (USITC Trade DataWeb), General Administration of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China, The Customs Service of the Kingdom of Thailand, South Korea (Korea Customs Service), India (UN Comtrade) and official statistics for the imports of Vietnam’s partner countries. Data for all countries also draw on UN Comtrade and on analysis by Chatham House

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Proportion of wood-based product imports at high risk of illegality from China into the UK (by RWE volume), 2000-13

Estimates of illegal wood imports by consumer and processing countries have been made based on an analysis of all wood product imports, including pulp and paper. The analysis uses estimates of illegally sourced timber content in individual wood flows, with variations across product groups and destination countries reflecting the effects of efforts made by certain importers to clean up supply chains and reflecting the different types of wood source used in different products. In addition to direct flows from affected producer countries, estimates have also been produced of illegal wood in flows from key third-party processing countries such as China, based on an analysis of these countries’ imports, their domestic production, and how the proportion of these has changed over time.

The figures adopted are based on the best available evidence; but, given the challenges of quantifying levels of illegal logging and the limited information available for some countries, they should not be regarded as definitive. Rather, they indicate the likely levels of illegality and, perhaps more important, how they may have changed over time.

Sources: Based on illegality estimates by Chatham House; and official national trade statistics for the UK, France, Netherlands (Eurostat), Trade Statistics of Japan, the US (USITC Trade DataWeb), South Korea (Korea Customs Service) and India (UN Comtrade). Data for all countries also draw on UN Comtrade and on analysis by Chatham House.

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The level of imports of wood-based products at high risk of illegality was estimated through an evaluation of product flows. The evaluation involved estimating the RWE volume and value of imports (in US dollars) from official import data for each year as well as the bilateral flow of each category of wood-based product. Those values were then multiplied by estimates of the proportion that was likely to be illegal. That proportion was based on an estimate of the level of illegality likely to be associated with the export of each product category for a given country and year as well as the extent to which importing countries demonstrate a preference for legal (e.g. FSC-certified) products.

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